Talent management continues to be a top concern for leaders; therefore, in this blog I’ll address ten talent management best practices. Let’s start by defining what talent management involves. I often hear that “talent is the most important asset in our organization.” But are you taking the necessary steps to attract the right talent, and then educate, encourage, and maintain your top talent?

Talent management is the umbrella that covers all aspects of taking care of your employees—your talent. Talent management includes the following components:

• Strategies to attract the right talent
• Education and training tools for all staff
• Established career paths
• Personal and professional development opportunities
• Mentoring relationships
• Leadership development plans, and
• Culture training based on your organization’s core values.

In this two-part blog, I’ll outline ten talent management best practices that can enhance your institution’s talent management program. Here are the first five talent management best practices:

1.      Updated Job Descriptions and Role Clarity

The very first step to formalize your talent management program is to create and update job descriptions for all positions in the organization. In the “Position Purpose”  section of your job descriptions, clarify the role of the position so the employee understands their job clearly. Include the organization’s core values so employees can identify if their personal core values align with the company’s. Clearly defined job descriptions for all positions is a strategy to attract the right talent.

2.      Current Organizational Design

With the current turnover ratios that institutions experience these days, you could update your organizational chart daily. However, that is not necessary. Ideally, you first create an organizational design based on functions. Then you create the org chart with the employees’ names that occupy each position. The two questions to answer are: Does our organizational design support our current business model? What changes are needed to ensure it supports the future needs of the institution? Update the org chart at least quarterly and ensure it’s available to all staff.

3.      Formal Performance Review Process

The lack of a formal performance review process results in a complete lack of accountability at all levels of an organization. There are many software solutions that automate the review process and save all documentation electronically – managers no longer need to complete review forms by hand. Yes, the process takes time, but it is foundational to retaining top talent in your company.

The best employee review processes have three simple steps: 1) Employee provides input into their own performance for the past twelve months (at least one week prior to the formal review meeting); 2) Employee and manager meet to discuss opportunities to grow and recognize accomplishments; 3) Employee takes ownership of his/her growth and provides manager with a plan to improve, grow, learn, etc. for the next year. Ensure the compensation and salary communication takes place in a separate meeting. Doing so will avoid the employee to want to get to the salary conversation right away.

4.      90-Day Check-In with New Hires and “Stay Interviews”

Attracting and retaining new talent is an ongoing challenge for most companies today. Conducting a 90-day check-in interview is one way to ensure new employees are integrating into your company’s culture and performing their jobs as agreed. It is also crucial to stay in touch with your existing staff and one way to do this is to conduct “stay interviews.” The purpose of these interviews is to discover any challenges employees may have within the organization. Many issues can be addressed through these informal meetings with your current team members.

5.      Provide Culture Training

Your company has an established culture. Can you define it in words? Does your culture reflect your core values? Do your employees know and can recite your core values? These are important questions to ask your leadership team. The first step to provide culture training is to ensure you define your top 3-5 core values and share them consistently with the entire staff. Reward those who exhibit and live out your company’s core values to encourage others to do the same. Your culture reflects how you do things “your company’s way.” You need to continually enhance your culture and protect it from bad influences once you achieve the culture you aspire to have in your organization.

I will address the next five best practices in Part 2 of this blog. I hope these five will get you started in enhancing your talent management program at your organization.

Are you looking for help with your talent management program? As always, we are here to help.

During your strategic sessions, when planning for leadership succession, focus on the talent. Succession planning is on everyone’s top strategic objectives. And you must choose the right successors for each leadership position. The leadership team comprises of a variety of talent, skill, and experience. So how do you choose successors to the top-level leaders successfully?
Below are five talents to look for as you look for successors to the top positions of your organization:

The Talent of Leadership.

You can argue that leaders are born or made. I believe it’s both. The best leaders are those who are naturally good influencers of people which is the top talent to look for in your senior leadership team. Leaders take the initiative to lead. They are excellent decision makers with the information they have available at the time. They also own their decisions and consequences of those decisions.
Influential leaders don’t “tell” others what to do. They “coach” others to discover the answers for themselves. Top leaders must trust their employees that they know how to perform the job the company hired them to do.
Lastly, it is crucial to understand the difference between leadership and management. Leaders impart the vision to others. Managers execute the vision. Leadership is a talent. Management is a skill. The best leaders are also successful managers. Top leaders must be willing to develop their leadership talent and to enhance their management skills.

The Talent of Communication.

The talent of communication includes the ability to communicate well in every area and in a variety of ways. Good communicators are well spoken and can also communicate successfully in writing. They have the common sense to discern when an in-person conversation is better than an email or voice mail based on the circumstances. They choose words wisely to ensure others understand the message correctly and avoid misunderstandings or hurting other people’s feelings.
Excellent communicators listen well and repeat what others say to ensure they understood the message. Leaders who possess this talent mold their communication style to others’ styles to ensure a successful interaction. They take the initiative to understand the communication style of those they interact with and confront situations as they arise.

The Talent of Strategic.

Top leadership must be strategic about the future on how to direct the company’s endeavors. Collaborating with the other top leaders as a team, leaders make decisions that impact all stakeholders. People who possess the Strategic talent, according to the CliftonStrengths themes, create alternative ways to proceed after they explore at all the options.
Even when a company has a vision, without strategy at the top level of leadership, the company wonders around and does not accomplish its goals nor the vision. As a strategic team, they select members based on the knowledge gaps and needs of the team. It is crucial for the future success of the organization to choose the right successors for the top positions of the company.

The Talent of Includer.

Not one person can lead an organization without consulting and including the rest of the team—not even the CEO. Therefore, it is imperative for a Senior Leadership Team to look for leaders who include others in the decision-making process and that listen to others’ perspectives and points of view. Just as important, once a decision is made, whether everyone agreed or not, the team must support the decision.
According to the CliftonStrengths themes, those who possess the talent of includer simply “accept others.” Even though this talent is important, on one hand, the team must ensure the entire staff is represented at the leadership level. On the other hand, they must ensure that confidential information does not get out prematurely to the staff in an effort to “include everyone.” Doing so can present legal risks to the company if they share information that is not appropriate to be shared until the right time.

The Talent of Responsibility.

Top leaders must accept the huge responsibility it is to lead others. Some people only want the title but don’t want to take on the additional responsibilities that go with the title. Ensure your C-Level leaders embrace and own the responsibility given to them. They hold each other accountable.
Leaders with the talent of responsibility get things done. And precisely because they do what they say, they typically don’t understand others who don’t follow through. For them this is inconceivable. That’s when the communication gift comes in handy to understand others who don’t possess that talent and talk about it.
I will leave you with these related questions as you search for successors:

• How deep is your talent pool? Could you find successors to the top leadership positions internally?
• Are you focusing on depth of talent to include talent, skill, experience, and expertise to fill the open seats?
• Are you looking for people who share your core values and the skills to match the business needs?

Succession planning is a great way to introduce new set of skills and expertise you may have been missing in the past. Therefore, when planning for leadership succession, focus on the talent. I hope searching for these five talents in your top leaders’ successors helps you form a successful team.